Canadian Artists Out in Force at New York’s Armory Week

This week is one of the biggest in New York’s year of art. It’s Armory Week, with several significant art fairs on the go—the most prominent being the Armory Show, but with some more youthful, more experimental fairs too, like the Spring/Break Art Show, which takes place inside a Times Square office building.

Canadians are out in force at many of the events, with gallerists, artists and collectors all on hand. Here is a roundup of just some of the Canadians showing during Armory Week.

Faria also represents Vancouver writer and artist Douglas Coupland, whose 2014 Lego-tower sculptures are on display in the Armory Show’s “Platform” section, which is dedicated to large-scale installations and commissions and is curated by Eric Shiner, former director of the Warhol Museum.

At the Art Show

For instance, New York’s 303 Gallery is featuring at least one large photo-work by Vancouver’s Rodney Graham at its ADAA solo booth for the artist, while Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, also based in New York, is presenting a sculptural installation by OCAD-trained artist Rirkrit Tiravanija. Works by Agnes Martin are part of a group show on seriality and repetition at the Peter Freeman booth. Drawings by Peter Doig are part of another mini group show at the booth of Michael Werner.

At NADA

At least eight commercial galleries from Canada are crossing the border to highlight their artist rosters at NADA New York, the fair organized by the non-profit New Art Dealers Alliance.

In the larger booth section at the fair, there are three Canadian dealers: Toronto gallery Cooper Cole is showing new oil-on-panel paintings by Vanessa Maltese. Montreal’s Galerie Antoine Ertaskiran, returning for its third year, is bringing work by Jessica Eaton, Nicolas Grenier, Jeanie Riddle and Derek Sullivan. And Montrealer Parisian Laundry’s booth includes new work by Luc Paradis.

In NADA’s Projects section, there are five more Canadian galleries. Toronto’s Roberta Pelan is highlighting works by Sydney Shen. Vancouver’s Fazakas Gallery will feature a solo exhibition of works by Kwakwaka’wakw artist Beau Dick. Vancouver’s Wil Aballe Art Projects highlights works by Patrick Cruz, as well as other works by Ryan Quast, Jeff Hallbauer and Maegan Hill Carroll. Montreal’s L’inconnue offers hybrid sculpture by Brussels-based Canadian Alex Morrison. And fellow Montrealer Projet Pangée is doing a solo booth of works by Joani Tremblay. (Notably, works from two of these galleries—L’inconnue and Fazakas—made White Columns director Matthew Higgs’s highlights of the fair.)

Elsewhere at NADA, find works by Canadian artists at other booths, like Ryan Foerster’s air-duct sculptures at David Petersen Gallery’s presentation.

At Volta

The solo-project fair Volta returns to New York for its 10th edition with five Canadian galleries featured.

Among them are Edmonton’s dc3 Art Projects, which is presenting a booth of works by Montreal’s Tammy Salzl. Toronto’s Angell Gallery is featuring painters Bradley Wood and Adam Lee. Montreal’s Galerie Youn is presenting works by Montreal-based artist Osheen Harruthoonyan and Paris- and LA-based artist Scarlett Rouge. Another Montreal-based dealer, Patrick Mikhail Gallery, is offering works by Natasha Mazurka, while yet another, Galerie Simon Blais, is focusing on photographs by Éliane Excoffier.

In Volta’s curated group show, organized by Wendy Vogel around the theme “Your Body is a Battleground,” Toronto artist Kent Monkman is represented with a few works via his Santa Fe dealer Peters Projects.

At Spring/Break Art Show

Spring/Break, billed as New York’s curator-driven art fair, is guided this year by the theme “Black Mirror.” Toronto’s AC Repair Co. has responded to the call with works by Connor Crawford, Brian Rideout and Brad Tinmouth. A neon mask sculpture by Brooklyn-based Canadian artist Brendan Fernandes and a painting by Peterborough-based artist Alex Bierk are also among the many works on view at Spring/Break.

At Art on Paper

A few Canadian galleries have also made inroads at the medium-driven fair Art on Paper. Toronto’s Feheley Fine Arts is doing a solo booth of works by Shuvinai Ashoona. Montreal’s Beaux-Arts des Amériques is showing work by Patrice Charbonneau, Lyne Bastien, Matthew Choberka, Jennifer Meanley and Lorraine Pritchard. Also from Montreal, Atelier-Galerie A.Piroir has brought art by John Heward, Hélène Latulippe, Jean McEwen, Catherine Farish and Ed Pien. Grande Contemporary Art—another Montrealer—is featuring works by Mike Smalley and Paul-Émile Rioux.

In terms of Canadians showing at other booths: Ryerson University graduate Balint Zsako, who now lives and works in Brooklyn, will be the sole focus of New York gallery the Proposition’s booth at Art on Paper. The Proposition will be showing a new series of large, figurative watercolour paintings, which were recently featured in Hyperallergic’s “Spring Guide to Art in NYC.”

About Town

Montreal artist Karen Kraven will be opening a solo exhibition, “Deadstock” at MAW on March 3; Kraven isn’t the only Canadian to show at MAW—later this year the gallery will host an exhibition including Lili Huston-Herterich.

Also on March 3: Maine-based Canadian Sascha Braunig opens a show at Foxy Production, while Toronto’s Georgia Dickie debuts an exhibition at Jeffrey Stark. (Take note that MoMA PS1 is currently featuring a solo show for Braunig called “Shivers,” with more than 20 works made over the last five years that promise to showcase “Braunig’s unique approach to the studio portrait.”)

On March 5, the performance piece Clean Labour by Brendan Fernandes will have its grand opening at the Wythe Hotel. In this work, Fernandes is collaborating with cleaning professionals at the Wythe Hotel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to design an original contemporary dance inspired by the movements and routines involved in their work. The piece is produced for Armory Week by More Art.

In addition to his showing at Art on Paper, Balint Zsako’s work will also continue to be on view at Foley Gallery until March 5.